


Never Forget to Breathe

by AnaraneSindanarie



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Accident, Anger, Depression, Drunk Driver, Injury, M/M, Pain, Physical Therapy, Recovery, Self-Hatred, motorcycle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-21 17:47:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12462762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaraneSindanarie/pseuds/AnaraneSindanarie
Summary: An accident leaves him with a new outlook on life. After a long recovery period, he decides to travel the world, eventually settling down in a small college town to peruse a degree or three. There he runs into an old friend who he hasn't seen in years.Title changed from New Outlook.





	Never Forget to Breathe

It had been a long few days. He had just returned from a mission and wanted nothing more than to go home, shower, and sleep but he had to turn in his report first. He dropped his gear next to his desk and began to quickly type up his report.

His eyes blurred as he typed but he pushed through his exhaustion and finished his report. He submitted it, grabbed his gear, and headed out of his office. He made his way down to the garage where he had parked his bike before leaving for his mission. He was relieved to see it and slung his bag more securely onto his back before mounting his bike.

Once on the road he realized that he should have just caught a cab or called Trowa to drive him home as his eyes kept blurring. He fought through his haze of exhaustion as he stopped at a red light. When the light turned green he looked to make sure no vehicles were going to run the light, when he deemed it safe, he started going.

He never saw the car that hit him. He did feel the pain that erupted through his body as he was pinned from the waist down between the car, his bike, and a concrete wall. He screamed as people left their cars to help him.

“Hang on! I’ve called for an ambulance!”

He barely heard them through his pain and the fog of unconsciousness that was quickly approaching him.

“He’s pinned!”

“The driver is drunk!”

“Hey man! You gotta stay awake! The ambulance is almost here!”

His screams had stopped as the fog quickly surrounded him and sucked him into the much-welcomed arms of unconsciousness.

* * *

 

 

When he woke the first thing he noticed was the annoying beeping that filled the room. The second thing he noticed was that he felt no pain.

He opened his eyes to see a stark white ceiling above him. He stared at it for a moment before letting his eyes roam the room, taking in every detail he could. He saw the multitude of cards and vases of flowers and wondered just how long he had been in the hospital.

He took stock of his body to try and figure out what his injuries were. It wasn’t until he got to his legs that he realized he couldn’t feel them. His hands moved sluggishly and felt what he could of his legs.

The door opened and a relieved sigh filled the room.

“You’re awake!” Quatre said as he entered the room.

“Quatre… water.” He rasped.

Quatre grabbed the jug of water and poured some into a cup. He added a straw and held it to his friend’s lips.

“My legs?” He asked when he was done with the water.

“They’re still there.” Quatre assured him, “But they’re badly injured.”

“How bad?” He asked.

“Your right leg was crushed.” Quatre said, “The doctors say that they can repair the damage but you’ll have a long recovery ahead of you.”

“And my left leg?” He asked.

“It broke in several places.” Quatre said, “Your pelvis was broken too.”

Quatre looked close to tears.

“Don’t cry.” He said, “It wasn’t your fault and I’ll be okay.”

He wanted to cry himself. He couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t walk or sit up.

“The driver was drunk.” Quatre said, “He’s been sitting in jail for the past two days.”

“Two days?” He asked, “I’ve been out for two days?”

“I had the doctors keep you sedated.” Quatre said, “Until they could finish the surgeries on your legs and pelvis.”

“Ahh…” He said, “Since you haven’t said otherwise… I’m guessing they went fine?”

“Yeah.” Quatre agreed, “They went fine, but… Oh Duo… you’re going to have such a long recovery ahead of you!”

“I know.” Duo said, “I’ll be fine, Quat. I’ll be back on my feet in no time.”

In truth, Duo knew it would be months until his legs and pelvis healed enough for him to be able to get out of bed. Until then he would be confined to his hospital bed where he would be given sponge baths with lukewarm water.

And when he finally did get to the point where he could start physical therapy, he knew that it would start with strengthening his legs before they would even let him attempt to walk.

“I’m going to go get your doctor.” Quatre said, “I’ll be back in a moment.”

Duo nodded as Quatre squeezed his hand. Once Quatre was out of the room, he grabbed the closest object he could reach and threw it across the room. He felt his legs again and noticed the metal rods that seemed to be attached to them, he guessed they were there to keep him from moving his legs.

When Quatre came back in with the doctor he barely heard a word that was said as he stared out the nearby window. At least the weather agreed with his mood. Rain pelted the window as it stormed. It matched exactly how he felt.


End file.
